


The Art of Creating

by Marine_is_Hope



Series: The Art of Living [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-09
Updated: 2014-01-09
Packaged: 2018-01-08 03:47:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1127958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marine_is_Hope/pseuds/Marine_is_Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their lives aren’t perfect. When you are forced to fight to see the next day’s light, you often gain scars. Nico and Jason’s lives definitely aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t ever content.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art of Creating

If there was one thing that Jason Grace loved about evenings, it was laying spread-eagle on the couch with Nico curled up on top of him. He adored the way that no matter what they were doing at the start of it, they would end up just staying in that position, completely quiet. He enjoyed the fact that he could freely run his hands up Nico’s sides, or draw little circles with his thumbs on Nico’s hipbones. Most of all, he was thrilled at the small smile that always crawled its way onto Nico’s features during this time. 

On one such evening, Nico had been studying his notes from his anatomy lab while Jason pretended to watch TV over his head. In reality, he was busy watching the other boy memorize his writings. Nico’s Italian side came out when he was studying. He’d hurriedly whisper words to himself not noticing that his hands were following the tone of his voice, gesturing and moving around fervently. Jason could only smile to himself as Nico finally slowed down enough to realize that the other demigod was grinning. 

“What?” He asked his voice tired and more than slightly petulant. 

“You’re amazing, angelo.”

Nico scrunched up his face and blushed ever so slightly, “No word puns. Togliti la camicia.” 

Jason had to think about that one for a minute, “Did you just tell me to take off my shirt?” 

“Yes. I need a body.” 

“Why don’t you ask one of your many cadaver-grade subjects?” 

“Grace…” Nico growled, though there was almost a playful glint in his eyes.

Jason’s smile widened as he shuffled up the couch so that he could sit up. He took a bit more time than necessary in taking off the offending garment. He watched Nico out of the corner of his eye. He took note of the other man’s dilating pupils and fiddling hands. 

 

Feeling particularly devious, Jason gave a small yawn and stretched before scooting back down to join his lover. Nico blushed and looked down at his fingers, which now rested far too close to Jason’s crotch for comfort. He took in a shaky breath and wiggled back into place. He began to map out the muscles and bone structures, starting at the neck and working his way down to the lower torso. Jason could only close his eyes and enjoy the feathery-light touches as they worked lower and lower. He listened to the mumbled whispers that Nico uttered ever so often. He frowned when none of them made sense. He lifted a hand and brushed his fingers across Nico’s cheek. The dark haired Italian jumped, looking up with an annoyed glare at being broken out of his reverie. 

“You’re talking in Italian again.” At Jason’s words, Nico cursed and rested his head against the planes of Jason’s stomach. After about a minute, it was clear that he wasn’t going to move again. He just turned his head to the side and slid up Jason’s body. The room was quiet for a moment before Jason realized that Nico was listening to his heart. 

He rested a hand against dark curls and looked into even darker eyes. “Is everything alright?” He questioned. 

“As right as it can be.” Nico muttered, though even his voice sounded strained and stressed. He hadn’t been sleeping well. He had gone without a night-terror for twelve days. It was a new record. 

However, over the past few days, he’d wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to go back to sleep. The only reason the Jason knew about it was because he would wake up periodically to gentle fingers combing through his hair. Jason knew that Nico had been cramming for the MCAT, just as much as Jason had been studying for the LSAT. He hoped that stress was causing the insomnia and not dreams. They both needed a break from the mythical world. They needed time off from everything really, which was why Jason was so thrilled that it was winter break.

“Nico?” The moment that the smaller man looked up again, Jason slotted their lips together. Nico let out a shaky sigh and relaxed just a tiny bit. His hands came up to grip at Jason’s short hair. He nipped at Jason’s lower lip, smirking at the low moan that he got in response. Jason licked at the seams of Nico’s mouth, growling softly when the Italian opened his lips slightly. He ran his tongue across surprisingly crooked teeth before tentatively letting their tongues touch. Nico let out a gasp that might have concealed a moan as Jason’s fingers crept down his back and under his shirt. Jason opened his eyes to gaze at the smaller man. Nico’s irises were barely visible as he stared down at the former praetor with a small smile that held more secrets than Jason could ever know. He wasn’t even sure that he wanted to. He just reached up and trailed a hand down the other’s face, smiling softly before he began to nibble at Nico’s earlobe. “I love you.” He muttered as he nosed his way down to Nico’s neck to suck at his collarbone. A shutter ran through Nico’s body and he tilted his head back to give Jason more room. 

“Ti amo.” He gasped out, trying to keep his voice calm and collected, but failing. He felt Jason smile as the blonde’s fingers dipped below the hem of his sweatpants. He nodded slightly when Jason’s face took on a questioning expression. When Jason didn’t move, Nico ground his hips down, reveling in the jolt of pleasure that the action sent up his spine. That seemed to be enough to convince Jason. With extreme gentleness, he flipped them over and began the short work of unzipping Nico’s sweatshirt. Soon, the jacket joined Jason’s t-shirt on the floor. Jason gave Nico a grin as he let his hand travel even lower to grasp Nico around the hilt. He smiled as Nico let out a low, reverberating moan and—

“Whoa! Zeus’s holy sandals, guys, really?!” Conner Stoll’s voice sent the two of them jumping apart while Travis began to belt out the first couple of lines of Bad Romance. Nico looked like he was about to kill the Stoll brothers. Jason put a hand on his arm and sat up. Even though he looked calm, it was clear to Nico that Camp Half-Blood was about to get one hell of a thunderstorm if the sons of Hermes didn’t have a good reason for intruding. 

“What do you want?” The blonde ex-soldier growled, running a hand through his hair. 

The brothers, who had moved on to dueting Wreaking Ball, immediately sobered up. It was interesting to see just how much they had been forced to grow up once Chiron asked them to help him run the camp. Conner was the one who spoke up, his voice uncharacteristically grave, “There’s a half-blood near you guys, in LA.” 

“We were wondering if you could get her. Normally, we wouldn’t ask you but—”

“Reyna’s here with Piper,” 

“And Percy and Annabeth visiting Percy’s mom in New York with their daughter,” 

“And Hazel and Frank are in Canada,” 

“And we don’t want to mess with Valdez. He’s on one of his engineering binges and told us not to disturb him.”

“Where is she?” Nico asked, his eyes taking on a grave edge. 

“From what Clint, the satyr that has been watching over her said, somewhere in Chinatown. He lost sight of her.” Here, Travis stopped, looking hesitant. “Just, if his reports are anything to go by, you need to be careful. There’s apparently a whole host of creepy-crawlies looking for this girl.” 

“Who’s her parent?” Jason said, that last part putting him on edge. 

Conner shrugged, “We have no idea. She hasn’t started showing off any characteristics yet. Monsters are just showing up out of the wood work.” 

Jason gazed at Nico out of the corner of his eye. He took in the way that the son of Hades bit at the corner of his bottom lip, as well as the way his eyes flickered down to the skull ring that his father had given him. Jason understood the worry. There was one main reason that monsters would attack a demigod before their powers showed up and it had to do with their godly parentage. “We’ll find her.” Nico said. Conner and Travis visibly relaxed. 

“Thank the gods. We’ll send someone to pick her up from you as soon as we possibly can. Thanks again, guys! Clarisse will be thrilled!” Travis said.

Nico scoffed, “There’s no need to send someone here. I can bring her to you within the hour.” Both of the brothers looked thrilled at that.

“The girl’s name is Emily Thomason; she’s small with short dark hair. She has a Mickey Mouse backpack.” Connor continued.

Jason nodded before sweeping his hand through the mist. He looked over at Nico, who threw him his shirt. “Get changed, I’ll go get the swords.” The Italian said, his eyes gleaming. Before he could wonder off, Jason wrapped a hand around his arm. Nico looked up with a troubled expression. Jason kissed him gently. Nico was the one to pull away. As he walked away, Jason threw on his shirt and stuffed his feet in his shoes. 

 

It took them all of three seconds to get to the Gates of Chinatown. Nico looked ill when he took in all of the people milling about. He tugged his coat tighter as he looked at the lanterns and festive lights. “What is all this?”

“Consumerism at its finest. It’s Christmas time. People are rushing around trying to get the best deals. Or they are just having a good time on vacation.” Jason said as he took the man’s hand, ran his thumb over Nico’s knuckles in an attempt to calm him, and led him into the crowd of people. 

“How in Hades are we supposed to find a little girl in a place like this?” Nico hissed as he distrustfully eyed the crowd. A son of Vulcan was performing as a fire-eater. There was a large gathering around him. Jason even stopped short to watch him as he breathed out a cloud of fire that morphed into a Chinese dragon. The large red and golden beast made Nico cringe into Jason as people cheered before it disappeared into smoke. “There are too many people.” The son of Hades muttered.

“Look for monsters.”

“Why, so we can fight them in the air? Grace, there’s no room.” 

“We’ll find her. Don’t worry, please.” Jason said while squeezing Nico’s hand, trying to remain on task and the more upbeat of the two. Nico was right, however, there were too many mortals to even think about going into battle without having major ramifications. “Just look for anything odd.” 

“There’s a group of girls strutting around in nothing but mini-skirts and bikini tops. Is that odd enough for you?” 

“Nico…” At Jason’s tired tone, Nico slumped, digging his hands into his pockets.

“Sorry, I just—”

“Hate crowds, loud noises, and unexpected change. I know. Look, let’s just find the Mickey Backpack and—” Suddenly, there was a loud crash in the distance as the third building down’s top floor‘s windows all exploded in a burst of orange flames. People screamed and began to run away as glass rained down on top of them. 

“I say we start looking...” Nico said, pausing once what caused the fire to come into view. 

Scales gleamed golden in the sunlight. Teeth glinted as a long reptilian tongue lapped over them. Sharply intelligent green eyes gazed out over the terrorized crowds. The drakon itself was easily the size of a house. It was Python; the enemy of Apollo, one of the most poisonous monsters Jason knew of. Jason felt his heart stutter as he watched it take another deep breath. Flames billowed out into the next floor. Those windows also exploded out on to the street. 

“I’ll distract him, you find the girl!” Jason said, kicking off into the air. 

“Be careful!” Nico called up as he took off running to the building. He shielded his head as the heat surrounded him. People were rushing out around him and he heard sirens in the distance. He heard the drakon’s furious growl as thunderclouds began to circle in the sky. He heard Jason’s cry as thunder shook the building. There was a screeching sound as Nico froze up. He looked out the glass window and swallowed as one of Python’s claws came thrusting through to scratch at the floor. The building’s structure gave a low groan. Nico cursed. He was running out of time. He took off into the stairs. 

There were only six floors in the building. The last two had already been either demolished or torn off. Judging by the grinding screeches that were shaking the walls, the fourth one was about to go. Nico’s hand fell onto the hilt of his sword as he began to search the third floor. 

Nico threw open doors, his movements clearly getting jerkier and more desperate as lightening nets lit through the sky. “Damn it Jason, if you don’t keep yourself safe I’ll—” He jumped when a loud crashing noise hit him. It sounded like a bomb was going off. He threw open a door as ceiling came crumbling down, giving way to a talon-laden claw.

Nico tried to calm his breathing as he surveyed the dark room. It was impossible to see anything. He took a hesitant step forward, uneasy with being in the dark. Suddenly, his foot hit against something soft. The lights flickered, dosing the room in an electric blue haze. Nico jumped back startled at seeing the half-monster corpse that lay on the ground before him. He had pulled out his sword on instinct. The creature before him was a woman, with blood running down her cheeks like tears. There were snakes around her waist, fashioned into almost a belt. They still moved sluggishly, as if they were trying to get away from their former mistress before she denigrated into sand. Nico frowned and reached a hand out to the closest one to him. That was when he noticed the burn scars. The monster’s skin was black, making the charred wounds more difficult to see. Her entire face and torso had been mutilated. Her billowing, greasy hair was smoking. The wounds were electrical burns. Nico swallowed. Of course a child of Zeus would get the attention of the Great Python.

Nico felt the snake slither up his arm, apparently not caring that he was a son of the god of the underworld. This creature and her minions had to have been quite well acquainted with death and murder. “An Erinyes,” He muttered to himself. 

There was another crash, though this time it was in the room. One of the desks scooted back a few inches and there was a small gasp of fear. Nico rose to his feet, and walked over, making sure to at least make a little noise to signify where he was. The desk moved again. He walked around the wooden structure and knelt down. Emily Thomason looked up at him with wild and petrified eyes. Her hair was covered in plaster partials and there were scrapes running up her arms and legs. She had lost a shoe and her Mickey book-bag was torn open and frayed. “Emily?” Nico said, trying to keep his voice calm. 

The girl cowered from him, trying to put on a brave face. “D-Don’t come any closer.” She said, shaking. She couldn’t have been older than five. “I-I hurt that woman over there. I’ll hurt you too!” Nico tensed when he heard another crash from the dragon.   
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He said. The girl continued to glare at him with hard blue eyes that were quickly filling with tears. 

“That’s what th-they all said!” The girl hiccupped and continued to cower away from the man. 

“We need to get out of here. That thing out there is trying to tear this building apart to get to you. We need to get away.” 

“Momma said to wait right here!” Nico bit his tongue at the girl’s words. 

“Emily, they evacuated the building.” 

“She’ll come and find me!” There was another thunder- crash and the lights went out again. Emily screamed as the building groaned and shook again. She gripped her backpack tightly to her chest. “She’ll come! She always does!” 

“I’ll take you to her, but we have to get out of here!” There was another crash and Nico watched as cracks began to form on the ceiling. Desperation began to fill his mind. Emily, however, now looked at him with a sort of innocent hope as she slowly got to her feet. 

“You promise?” 

“I promise! Now come on!” Nico held out his hand. Emily took it. He reached for a nearby shadow and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were on the sidewalk of the Chung King Road. Emily was gripping tightly to his hand. A furious roar lit the air and again, Nico froze. “Jason.” He muttered. He looked down at the small girl who was looking up at him with far too trusting eyes. “Where is your home?” 

“122B Wicklow Street.” She said. Nico took a deep breath before he shadow-jumped again, this time in her apartment. “Look at me.” He said, his voice quietly, “If anyone knocks on this door that you don’t know, anyone at all, hurt them like you hurt the bad lady in your mom’s office, okay?” 

“Where are you going?” The girl said, clutching at his sleeve. 

“I need to help someone.” 

“Don’t leave me alone! I don’t want to be alone!” Emily let go of his sleeve to cling to his leg. 

Nico began to try to shake her off, “I can’t take you back there!” Emily began to cry. The son of Hades only lasted for grand total of two seconds before lifting her into his arms and taking off again into the shadows. 

 

Jason was beginning to feel like an annoying hornet, buzzing around the drakon’s golden head, sending lightning bolts at it every time that he could gather the energy. All they seemed to be doing was make the beast angrier. Its scales were as thick as armor and as hard as steel. He was getting nowhere fast. 

The creature finally grew tired of the annoyance buzzing around its head. Python turned its attention back to the building. Panic clawed at Jason’s chest. Nico was still in there. Nico was still in there. “Come on!” He shouted at the sky, which rumbled in protest. He generated a windblast just strong enough to send the drakon skidding back a few feet. The monster roared at him, furious. He had to dart to the left in order to escape its jaws. “Come on, Nico, hurry.” Jason muttered to himself under his breath. Python hissed at him and batted at him with its tail. It lifted a paw and crashed into another floor. Jason felt cold fear run through his body when he heard the groaning sound that the building made. The structure couldn’t support this much damage and weight. “Nico!” Jason shouted, moving to fly forward to find his lover. But it was too late. 

There was yet another, much louder crash as the monster’s feet went through the third floor. It collapsed onto the already unbalanced structure. The walls went tumbling down on top of it. Python let out a loud cry as it was buried beneath the rubble.

Jason couldn’t move. He just stayed there, hovering in mid-air, staring down at the building. He was frozen where he was. He didn’t even see the drakon’s tail coming at him until he was flying backwards, only to land spread-eagle on the closest brick wall. He tumbled to the ground and laid there.

 

Nico raced to where Jason was, his heart pounding in his throat. He couldn’t hear and he couldn’t see what was happening around him because Jason was on the ground, not moving, completely still, bleeding, turning pale and limp and no. No. No. No. No. NO. The son of Hades skidded to his knees, unconsciously shielding the other’s body with his own. His hands shook as he grabbed at Jason’s wrist. The rhythmic cadence of Jason’s heartbeat nearly sent Nico into tears. Was he still shaking or was that the ground? 

Emily came walking up, hesitance in her step. “Is he going to be okay, Mister?”   
Nico swallowed as he surveyed the damage. Blunt force trauma to the head. Possible concussion. Two, no, three broken ribs from the initial hit. Possible punctured lung. Strained left arm, possibly broken. He needed to get him to a safe place. He needed to get him home. “I-I don’t know.” His voice was soft, even to his own ears. It was unsure and absolutely terrified. 

 

Jason’s vision was blurry when he tried to open his eyes. He reached out to stretch, before being jerked into reality when pain shot up his spine. He gave a low groan and relaxed back onto the bed. That was, until he remembered what happened. “Nico!” He shot up, almost immediately doubling over in torment as his body caught up with him. 

“I wouldn’t do that, Mister.” A child’s voice called out. Jason blinked rapidly, trying to clear his swimming vision. There was a small girl with a falling-apart Mickey Mouse backpack on the floor. She stopped coloring to look up at him with electrifying blue eyes. “Mr. Nico just went to sleep for the first time in a long while.” Jason frowned, following her gaze to the foot of her bed.

There was Nico, fast asleep, looking more gaunt and haggard than Jason had seen him be in months. The blond son of Zeus bent forward to gently tousle unruly black curls. The soft hairs bent underneath his fingers and sprung up from the cracks in between them. It was a reaction that Jason knew all too well. It was real. He let out a shaky sigh of relief and looked back down at the girl who was staring up at him. 

Finally, she spoke up, “You guys are weird.” She paused for a minute, looking down at her coloring book, “I like it. Mommy always says that weird people are more fun to be around than normal ones.” 

“Where is your mom?” Jason said. Normally, when they were taking a child to Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood, they would at least tell the parent what was going on.

Emily shrunk in upon herself, “I don’t know. Mr. Nico said that he would help me find her, but then you got hurt and he forgot.” 

“Where was she when we found you?” Jason said. Normally there would be some sort of alert. The satyr would get in touch with the parent and would point them to where their child was. 

“She was in the building too. She said that she was going to get help!” At those words the girl’s face fell, “But she didn’t come back.” 

“Oh,” Jason muttered to himself, feeling uneasy. “Well, when Nico wakes up, we’ll go look for her for you, okay?” Emily smiled. 

 

Jason had a whole new reason for liking the evening. It was the only time of day when the world seemed quiet. Nico had been gone all day, hunting around for a Miss Tanya Thomason, so it had been up to Jason to keep Emily entertained. So, they had gone to the Science Center, aquarium, and Universal Studios, all before lunch time. Jason had no idea how little children had so much energy. By about two in the afternoon, he was ready to fall onto a park bench and take a nap. In fact, he tried to. But then a group of models turned Lamias decided that Emily would be a good afternoon snack. 

As a result, by the time that the duo got home at six, all that Jason could bring himself to do was grill the girl up a grilled cheese. (He also got out the glass tea-pitcher that Percy’s mom had gotten Nico when she found out that he liked sweet-tea, but put it right back where he found it when he realized that there was a snake sleeping in it.) So, instead of making the girl tea, he hand her another set of coloring books. Once she was busy, he walk into his and Nico’s room, and collapse onto bed. He must have dosed off, because when he woke up, there were soft finger’s treading themselves through his hair and the clock read 11:52 pm. “Mmph, Nico?” A kiss was placed on the back of his neck as an answer. Something was wrong. He could feel it in the air. He tried to turn around to face the other man, wincing slightly at the dull throb. When he met Nico’s eyes, the Italian was frowning. 

“You’re not supposed to be moving around so much. Doctor’s orders.” 

“Emily’s puppy-dog eyes negate any and all orders of reason. By the way, why is there a snake in the pitcher?” 

“Did you hurt Poe?”

“Of course you brought home a pet serpent without even telling me.” Jason sighed, burying his head into Nico’s pillow. Nico was silent and still for a moment. Then he burrowed into Jason’s chest. Jason frowned, “What’s the matter?” He asked, wiggling for a moment so that he could rest his chin on the crest of Nico’s head. 

“I promised her that I would find her mother, Jason.” 

“How did it go?” Jason asked, already fearing the answer. The building collapse, which the mortal news said had started because of a bomb detonation had killed 13 people and injured many more. 

Nico let out a shaky sigh, “She’s in Elysium. I gave her a fast-pass so that she could get judged quickly and wouldn’t have to wait in all of the lines.” 

“Oh,” Jason breathed. It was the only thing that he could think to say. 

Nico was just lying there, his face hidden from view as he continued to talk, “I promised her that I would help her find her, Jason. I promised her. I-I—” Again, he went silent. Jason dipped his head down to nuzzle at Nico’s bangs. 

“So that’s why you haven’t sent her to Camp Half-Blood.” Jason muttered to himself. “What do you want to do?” 

“I can’t just leave her in the dark, Grace.” Nico’s voice was a growl, defensive and volatile. 

“I didn’t say that you should.” Jason said, kissing the tip of Nico’s ear. 

“What do you think that I should do?” Nico asked, his voice quiet, tired, and more than slightly hopeless. 

“Give her closure.” 

 

Jason was the one who was put in charge of waking Emily up. Nico was waiting for them in the living-room. He had a winter-coat on and was pulling on gloves. When he saw Emily, he nodded and dug through the closet. He pulled out a small coat and handed it to her. Jason raised an eyebrow. Nico frowned at him, “I knew where her house was and she needs a jacket.” Jason could only smile at the other man’s slight discomfort. In absolute silence, they left the apartment.

It didn’t take that long to buy the McDonalds and head over to the Griffith Park. Emily was clinging to Nico’s hand as she rubbed her eyes, “Are we going to see the zoo?” She asked him with a yawn. 

“Not this time.” Nico muttered, motioning for her to go to Jason.

The blond took her hand with a sigh and closed his eyes, “This is probably so illegal that Mercury will come to congratulate us.” He muttered. 

Nico gave no indication that he heard him; in fact, Jason jumped when he heard him speak, “Or Hermes. You never know.” Nico held out his hand and with a flick, there was a patch of unearthed dirt. He poured in the food and drinks into the hole and began to chant. Within the minute, the park was filled with an eerie green light. Mist began to flood the area. Specters began to mill about, coming in and out of view. Emily hid behind her older half-brother. Even Jason had to admit that the whole thing was fairly terrifying. 

Soon, there was one ghost who stood out from the rest. She was a young woman with long, curly brown hair that flowed freely around her shoulders. She was beautiful with pale eyes and skin. It was clear to Jason why Zeus would find interest in someone like her.

When she saw Emily, her face brightened and her small smile turned into a grin. The little girl seemed frozen in spot for a moment before she stumbled forward. “Momma?” She asked, her voice shakily. The woman nodded, her eyes growing sad and teary. Emily moved forward again, reaching out as if to touch the apparition. Nico put a hand on her shoulder. His eyes were as soft as Jason had ever seen them. “Talk as much as you want… just don’t touch her.” Emily stopped short for a minute, then nodded. The Ghost King walked over to Jason. The son of Zeus reached down to intertwine their hands. When Emily wasn’t looking, he placed a kiss to the top of Nico’s head.

 

By the time that they got to Camp Half-Blood, Emily was asleep on her feet. Jason handed her over to a yawning Conner and Travis. The brothers were dressed in matching pajama pants and looked like they hadn’t gotten much sleep in the past week. Still, they managed to smile at the trio as they approached. 

“Thanks for staying up, guys.” Jason muttered to Travis as Conner crouched down to introduce himself to the girl. Emily smiled up at them, shyly. She didn’t seem to want to let go of Nico’s pants. She looked up at Nico. 

“It’s too cold. I want to stay with you guys.” 

Nico sighed and knelt down, “You’ll be trained here, okay? It’ll make sure that you never hurt anyone you don’t want to.” 

“Can’t you and Jason do that? These guys are weird.” She looked pointedly over to the Stoll brothers, who were sticking their tongues out at each other over something petty. 

“Your mom always said that weird people are more fun to be around than normal ones.” Jason said, smiling down at her. 

“I like your type of weird better.” Emily said, her lips pursed. 

“Then you can come and visit us over the summer. But soon, we’re going to be back in school and it’d be hard to keep you entertained with stinky professors.” Jason laughed at the look over disgust that came over Emily’s face. She nodded and walked over to Travis, who grinned at his brother and pulled her away from him when Conner reached down to hold her other hand. Suddenly, Emily stopped and pulled away from the brothers. She looked back at the lone duo. She took off toward them, running as fast as her little legs could carry her. 

She threw her arms around Nico’s middle and buried her face into his stomach. Nico was rooted in his spot, frozen in shock. She began to speak. “Thanks for everything. Mommy really likes you! Thanks for finding her for me! Can I talk to her again during the summer?” The question snapped Nico out of his trance. He could only find it in himself to nod his head minutely. That small movement made a smile spread across the little girl’s face. She hugged him tighter before running back to the sons of Hermes. She waved them goodbye as they took her to the Hermes cabin. That made Jason frown. 

“She’s a known child of Zeus, why are they—”

“I asked them to so she wouldn’t be alone.” Jason let out a breathy laugh at Nico’s words. He reached out a hand. 

“Let’s go home.” He said. Nico didn’t even hesitate before connecting their hands. The son of Hade even leaned into Jason as he opened a portal. The blond looked down and frowned at the misted look that was in the Ghost King’s eyes. He hadn’t seen that look in a long time. He knew better than to say anything.

 

Once again, at some ungodly hour of the night, Jason awoke to fingers running through his hair. This time he didn’t move. He simply laid still, waiting to feel what happened next. Nico was whispering in his ear, his voice so soft that it sounded like a lonely lullaby. “No one ever told me how hard it was to keep promises. For all those years, I wanted to hate Percy for not keeping Bianca safe. Now, I stood in his shoes, watching on a kid realized that the hope that they had in me was nothing. How does anyone manage to put faith in anyone?” 

“Because some of those promises are kept.” Jason muttered, blinking away sleep. Nico looked down at him with masked and slightly distrustful eyes. Jason sat up. “You gave Emily your word, and you kept it. She saw her mom again. She was happy when she left. There’s nothing to beat yourself up for. Nico…” A thought crossed his mind. “Is that why you’ve not been sleeping?”

Nico pursed his lips, his dark eyes glinting. He said nothing, but he didn’t need to at the moment. Jason sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck. “You haven’t let anyone down. Not Emily, not me. Not now, not in the war with Gaea.”

Nico breathe out and shuffled around, “I keep dreaming of the day that Percy got back.” His eyes glinted again, gleaming black, his voice was quiet, “I keep thinking back to when he first told me about Bianca. For just a second, just one small sliver of time, I wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to suffer and feel pain. Now, I look back on that and can only think…” Nico shook his head, his lips pressed tight together. It was clear that was all he was going to give about the subject. Jason understood. Instead of pressing he just wrapped his arms around the son of Hades, hesitantly at first to make sure that Nico was okay with the touch. 

Nico seemed more than alright with the contact, as he leaned in to rest his head against Jason’s collar bone. “How do you live with someone like me?” He muttered against sun-tanned skin. 

“The same way you live with someone like me. We can only take it one day at a time.” 

Nico’s hands wrapped around his stomach and Jason stayed still as he let the other breathe in his sent. “Can you make me just let it all go?” He whispered. The request hung in the night air.

“Do you want me to?” There was hesitance in Jason’s reply. 

“Would I ask you if I didn’t?” There was the amount of Nico snark that Jason was used to. A thin black eyebrow lifted delicately as Nico pulled himself up and leaned closer. “I don’t want to think.” 

“Then go to sleep.” Jason said, letting a small smile come to his lips as he leaned down to nip at Nico’s nose. The Ghost King jumped slightly, a shadow falling over his face. A chill fell over the room and Jason cursed himself. He had forgotten that Nico would put on masks to act as though everything was normal when something was bothering him. “I’m sorry.” Jason said, placing a hesitant kiss to Nico’s forehead. 

“I don’t want to sleep. I don’t want to dream. I just want to not have to think.” Nico muttered off to the side. Jason kissed him, running a hand down his cheek. Nico took a minute to process what was going on, but when he did, he began to kiss back with twice the fever that Jason had. The second child of Zeus found himself opening his mouth to an insistent tongue as skilled fingers crawled up his back and side. They trailed up his shirt, pulling it over his head with little difficulty. Jason only let the kiss be broken for the time that it took for Nico to unbutton his pajama shirt. Then they slotted back together, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. 

Jason dragged one of his hands up the length of Nico’s spine to curl in his hair while the other reached out to the bedside to fumble for the lubricant. At the sound of the bottle being uncapped, Nico let out a small keen and pulled their bodies closer together. He didn’t care that he was resting in Jason’s lap. He didn’t notice that the entire lengths of their bodies were touching, or perhaps he did and wanted it to be so. Jason’s hand travelled downward to reach into Nico’s boxers. He wrapped the wet hand around the base of Nico’s member and trailed his hand down to the tip, a touch too light and definitely too slow to be what Nico wanted. 

The Ghost King growled and reconnected their lips. If the nips and bites were anything to go by, Jason knew that he had to hurry up, unless he wanted to lose his hand. He smiled and picked up speed, adding a slight twist to his grip as his fingers ran down the shaft. Soon, Nico was panting against Jason’s shoulder, his cheeks hot and red. The son of Jupiter couldn’t help the curl of possessiveness that ran through his body at the sight. 

He placed his lips against Nico’s ear, sending a shiver through the dark-haired man when he breathed. “How far do you want to go?” Nico didn’t say anything. He didn’t feel the need to say anything. He just kissed Jason with fingers gripping at blond hair, with their noses bumping together affectionately, with his brown eyes staring straight into blue. They didn’t need words, not anymore. Nico just let his eyes fall shut as Jason began to nip at his neck. He tilted his head back when Jason leaned down to mouth at his navel. A small smile crossed his lips when Jason took his clean hand and intertwined their fingers. 

 

Nico was the second to wake up, which well, hadn’t happened in a while. The shower was running, so he turned over to look at the door, mentally debating the merits of getting up. He winced slightly at the pain that came from his lower back, but pushed it to the back of his mind. Slowly, he rose to his feet and stumbled out into the hallway, pulling the bed-sheet off with him. He made it into the bathroom and sat down on the bathmat. Jason’s outline stopped what it was doing before it continued washing its hair. “How did you sleep?” Jason asked over the running water.

“I slept.” Nico said, running a hand through his hair. It was then that something on his hand glinted, catching his eye. He looked down, holding his left hand out to the light. The ring was simply designed, with a golden exterior and a darker interior that was designed to look like a maze. It was made of what looked to be Imperial gold and Stygian Iron. It was simple, but it definitely hadn’t been there before. “Grace,” The room went quiet expect for the running water. “what is this?” 

Jason’s face poked out from behind the shower-curtain. When he noticed the ring he blushed lightly, “Today’s the final day of Saturnalia, the 23ed. You place your presents by the person while they sleep.” 

“What is this?” Nico asked again, trying to keep his voice calm. He shuffled around in his sheet, feeling it slip off his shoulders. He couldn’t bring himself to care. He just kept looking up at the former-Praetor. All that he could think of was the way that Jason bit his lip and turned slightly pink in the cheeks. 

“A-A ring.” 

“Does it mean anything?”

“Do you want it to?” There was a shakiness in Jason’s voice that Nico normally only heard in his words. 

Nico was silent for a minute, his right hand coming up to twist the band on his left ring-finger. He licked at his lips, his eyes going down to look at the floor. His hands came up to rest at the base of his head as he tried to breathe normally. He faintly heard Jason clamor out of the shower. Soon, the blond was kneeling opposite him in a way that sent a pang of nostalgia running through his body. They had been in this same position almost exactly one year ago. 

Just vaguely, he heard Jason speaking in an almost panicked whisper, “I not trying to push anything, I-I just thought that, well—I-I mean, you don’t, I’m don’t want—” Listening to Jason fumbling with words was off-putting enough to snap Nico out of his trance.

“Yes.” Nico said, before he had even realized that he had spoken. “Yes,” He repeated, “I want it to mean something, but…” The panicked gleam was back in Jason’s eyes, “I don’t have anything to give you.” 

The son of Jupiter visibly relaxed, resting his wet forehead against Nico’s, “Just give me one of your old ones that you don’t wear anymore. I don’t care. I just—”

“My father is the god of wealth, and while he isn’t particularly pleased with my choice in romantic partners, he will strike me dead if I don’t spend an inordinate amount of money on an engagement ring. It’s one of the things he’s really strict about. I think it has something to do with the whole thing with Persephone.” Nico trailed off, before his eyes flashed, “Give me an hour.” 

Jason had to smile, “I’d rather not let you go.” He said, leaning into kiss Nico. Nico was the one who bridged the distance.

 

Once again, Percy and Annabeth’s Christmas Party was crowded with demigods from both camps. The minute that Nico walked into the room, Andromeda threw herself into his arms. Nico lifted her up to press a kiss to her cheek. There was a smile on his lips as he spun her around on his hip. Her giggles and squeals of joy brought everyone’s attention to the two newcomers. Hazel hugged her bother before she dragged him into the kitchen to help make desserts. 

Piper appeared at Jason’s side. “So, I’ve heard from a little bird that you two have had a fun couple of weeks.” She looked pointedly at Reyna, who blushed and looked away. Piper smirked and blew a kiss in her girlfriend’s direction.

Jason groaned, “Don’t remind me.” He said, running a hand through his hair, “I have a whole new respect for Percy and Annabeth.” 

Piper had to laugh at that, “That’s not what I meant.” She said indicating to his left ring-finger. A silver ring with a blue gemstone adorned it. Jason smiled and put the finger to his lips. 

“Just wait until after dessert.” He whispered before walking off to talk to the Stolls about how Emily was doing.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is also called, "The One Where Marine Finally Stops Being Prude And Actually Writes a Sex Scene"! Except, you know, I chickened out at the last minute. Oh well, maybe next time! As always, if there is anything glaringly wrong, please tell me so I can fix it! 
> 
> Marine


End file.
